Manassas, VA Hiking Trails and Maps

566 Reviews

Looking for the best Hiking trails around Manassas?

Find the top rated hiking trails in Manassas, whether you're looking for an easy short hiking trail or a long hiking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a hiking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.

The Anacostia River Trail begins in Cottage City, Maryland, at the split of the Anacostia River into its northeast and northwest branches. Those traveling south on either the Northeast Branch Trail or...

The Anacostia Tributary Trail System includes a number of trails linked together and managed by the National Park Service. The trail include: the Anacostia River Trail, the Northwest Branch Trail, the...

Black Hill Trail offers a wooded trek with gentle inclines through Black Hill Regional Park in Boyds, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. The trail is primarily paved, though a short section in...

The Blake Lane Sidepath runs for 3 miles, linking Oak Marr Park and Recreation Center with neighborhoods, Oakton High School and other parks. Most of the trail is concrete and the width of a standard...

The Bluemont Junction Trail is a short paved trail that branches off from the popular Washington and Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) in the heart of Arlington. The trail was built on a spur line that once...

The Burke Lake Loop Trail offers a nearly 5-mile route for a pleasant walk or bike, while enjoying the beautiful scenery around Burke Lake in Fairfax. Since the Burke Lake Loop Trail is within Burke...

The 11-mile Capital Crescent Trail follows the former route of the Georgetown Branch rail line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. It begins in Silver Spring, Maryland, east of the Rock Creek Trestle,...

Following the Potomac River, the C&O Canal Towpath traverses the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park for 184.5 miles between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. For...

The Cub Run Stream Valley Trail offers a paved route meandering through Cub Run Stream Valley Park in the Northern Virginia suburb of Centreville. Though it's surrounded by residential neighborhoods,...

Although it parallels Eisenhower Avenue, this paved pathway is not without its charms. On its west end, Alexandria's Eisenhower Avenue Trail begins in Hensley Park, which offers plentiful parking and...

The Fairfax County Parkway Trail parallels Fairfax County Parkway/State Route 286 on its route across Fairfax County, Virginia. While the paved trail varies in width and condition, most of the trail...

The Holmes Run Trail offers a scenic pathway through the heart of a busy residential area in Alexandria and adjoining Fairfax County, both suburbs of Washington, D.C. The trail, which is divided into...

Maryland's Intercounty Connector Trail serves as an important commuting route across Montgomery County and Prince George's County. It gets its name from the Intercounty Connector (also known as State...

The Lake Mercer Loop Trail wraps around Lake Mercer in Fairfax and is slightly over five miles in length. From the Lake Mercer Loop Trail you can hop on to the South Run Trail, or the Burke Lake Loop...

The Long Branch Trail is a neighborhood trail tracing the Long Branch Creek beginning at its confluence with Sligo Creek in Takoma Park, to Piney Branch Road in Long Branch. The trail is an easy ride:...

Opened in 2009, the short Lord Fairfax Community College Connector Trail extends from the parking lot of the junior college to its temporary endpoint in a scenic wildlife area. Eventually, an extended...

This 3.45-mile paved trail follows the Magruder Branch creek, beginning at the Damascus Recreational Park on Kings Valley Road. It’s a relatively flat trail for most of its length, barring the steeper...

The Matthew Henson Trail runs along a paved surface (rough in places from tree roots) through a narrow band of forested green space between the Rock Creek Trail just south of Veirs Road and Alderton...

Following the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Metropolitan Branch rail line, the Met Branch Trail is a busy urban rail-with-trail that shares a corridor with Metro's Red Line, MARC commuter...

The 3-mile separated multi-use path along Middletown Road allows for safe recreation and transportation along the western side of Waldorf, Maryland. The trail begins just south of State Route 228 and...

The Mount Airy Rail-Trail will one day span nearly 4 miles across the town of Mount Airy and through a scenic, wooded area. The first completed section of the trail covers a half mile and is surfaced...

The 18-mile Mount Vernon Trail is one of the Washington, D.C. Metro area's most popular trails. Just across the Potomac River from D.C. in Virginia, the trail links Theodore Roosevelt Island Park with...

The Northeast Branch Trail follows the levee along theyou guessed itNortheast Branch of the Anacostia River from the Lake Artemesia Natural Area to Baltimore Avenue/US 1 (south of Hyattsville). The...

The Northwest Branch Trail—an integral part of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System—runs between the Maryland towns of Hyattsville and Silver Spring, linking two bustling suburbs of Washington, D.C....

Providing an important urban link between the Crystal City area of Arlington and the western edge of historical Alexandria, the Potomac Yard Trail is a huge boon to the area for commuting as well as...

The Railroad Ford Trail is located in beautiful Lake Anna State Park in Spotsylvania County near Richmond, Virginia. The park boasts 2,463 acres with swimming, boating, fishing, horseback riding and...

The Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail provides a safe pathway for students, from kindergartners to doctoral candidates, to walk and bike to school in College Park, Riverdale Park and Hyattsville. The...

Rock Creek Trail forms a winding path, at times narrow, through the urban greenway of Rock Creek Regional Park. The trail extends between Needwood Lake northeast of Rockville, MD, and the Washington,...

Rocky Run Stream Valley Trail is part of the countywide trail system. This trail runs from the Fairfax County Parkway to Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. The distance along the trail from the Parkway to the...

The Savage Mill Trail in Savage Park travels along the rolling Patuxent River through the grounds of an old cotton mill. In the early 1800s, Savage was a major manufacturing center, harnessing power...

The Sligo Creek Trail parallels the eponymous waterway from its confluence with the Northwest Branch in Hyattsville to just north of its origin in Wheaton in Montgomery County. Along the way, a number...

The Strawberry Lake Way Bicycle Path is a 2.2 mile trail that is located between Laurel and Annapolis in Anne Arundel County Maryland. The trail starts at Piney Orchard Elementary School, and ends at...

The Stringfellow Road Sidepath runs for three miles through Chantilly and Centreville in Northern Virginia's Fairfax County. The asphalt and concrete trail connects multiple neighborhoods to various...

The Sudley Manor Drive Trail runs parallel to the southern 4.5 miles of its namesake road in western Prince William County. The trail services a number of the surrounding communities, such as Bristow...

The Unfinished Railroad Loop Trail is a short hiking trail within Manassas National Battlefield Park. The rail-trail runs on a corridor planned in the mid-19th century as a complement to the Manassas...

The Vesper Trail, which opened in 2019, serves as a short but important connector between Tysons and northern Vienna. The pathway spans 0.4 miles between the Spring Hill Metro Station (on the Silver...

Situated midway between the nation’s capital and the Virginia capital of Richmond, the Virginia Central Railway Trail will one day offer more than 30 miles of trail from downtown Fredericksburg west...

The WV Route 9 Bike Path follows the busy thoroughfare from Martinsburg to the Charles Town/Ranson area. Note that the path runs through open space with little to no shade. While the southern portion...

The West Campus Access Road Trail, the newest rail-trail in Washington, D.C., travels through the sprawling former campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital, now set to become the new home of the Department...

Like its name suggests, this is a circular pedestrian and bike trail in Winchester, Virginia. A popular trail, the trails appeal lies not just in its lovely landscaping, or simply as a welcoming space...

Now, More Than Ever, Trails Matter!

During COVID-19, trails are being counted on as places where people can find solace and respite and we need your support to keep trails open and provide these critical FREE resources! Please continue to practice physical distancing and check the status of your trail before heading out!

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park

Not What It Used To Be

I have been enjoying the C&O Canal towpath since I was a boy -- but I went for a bike ride yesterday (May 10, 2020) at the Monocacy Aqueduct and the path is now paved (I assume it's considered crushed stone). Yep, it's now "new and improved" -- not. One problem is that the trail now has a lower shoulder than the paved road. If you happen to get too close to the edge or pull off, you've got a bit of a dropoff which could be problematic. Another problem is that some of my fellow bicyclers seem to love the new surface as they now go flying even faster than before. Hiking on the paved trail is certainly not as nice as the previous dirt path. The feeling of getting away from it all has diminished and the trail has lost some of its charm. It no longer appears to be a path in the woods from a bygone era, but simply another bike trail. Pedestrians beware.

Magruder Branch Trail

popular trail...

Even on a COLD WINDY May day, there were lots of walkers, joggers, and some bikers. Steep on either end of the trail and I’m guessing 6-8’ wide so 2 bikers can safely but SLOWLY pass. Lots of smooth, elevated trail & bridges (lots of warning signs “Slippery When Wet”) Would be very nice in heat of summer since it’s shaded the entire route & alongside the stream. Trail is in the floodplain so would not be advisable when streams are up.

nice clay trail

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park

Rocks Roots and Ruts (July 2018)

After reaching the eastern terminus of the Great Allegheny Passage, I picked up the C&O Towpath in Cumberland, MD back in 2018 (perhaps the Towpath has improved since then). Unfortunately, rainy conditions really seem to impact this path/trail more than other trails. Its gravel surface (which rides nothing like the crushed limestone of the GAP) was a mess back in July 2018. Rain aside, this trail is really, really bumpy which really had a negative impact on progress (I usually tour around 15mph, and struggled to make 9mph on this path). As soon as I had the opportunity, I departed this path for the Western Maryland Rail Trail without any regrets. In my touring experiences, the conditions on the C&O Towpath were some of the worst that I've ever encountered. It's truly a shame: this path would be so much more enjoyable if it were better maintained.

Indian Head Rail Trail

Nice Flat Ride

Have done this a few times. I enjoy having this much mileage available without having to interact with cars on the road. And nice access to additional trails connect to this. Well maintained and a great trail for base miles if you don’t want elevation gains.

Cub Run Stream Valley Trail

pleasant

The trail is pleasant, we went there last Saturday. You could enjoy Virginia Blue Bell, a special blue flower of the area. The stream is beautiful. You have choices of long or short routes. Recommend it!